David

Quite a common butterfly where there are lots of trees and shrubs – their original habitat was clearings in woods.

A parasitic plant.

These were growing in the meadow in the Coombes Valley RSPB reserve, near Leek.

The mating ground of these Common blue damselflies was a small pond on the Coombes Valley
RSPB reserve in the Staffordshire moorlands.

The pictures were taken early in July.

Reed leaves above, and a foxglove flower below.

Willowherb flowers with two of the bees they had attracted. Rosebay willowherb is often one of the first generation of plants to colonise cleared ground, and often grows in clumps (bottom picture).

This picture, taken at the very start of July, shows one of the parent birds (flapping wings) together with young which already looked almost full grown.